Qijin Tianhou Palace

Qihouhou temple is the oldest temple in Kaohsiung City. Its establishment can be traced back to the 12th year of Kangxi reign of Qing Dynasty. It is said that Fujian fishermen drifted to Qihou to avoid typhoon at that time. They knew that there was a beautiful world here. After that, we invited fellow fishermen with their families to settle down, and brought the statue of Mazu from their hometown to worship in caoliao. In the 13th year of the reign of Emperor Guangxu, Zhang Yiji, a foreign businessman, was called to rebuild. In the 15th year of the Republic of China, there was another overhaul, which became the scale and form seen today. Its plane pattern belongs to the form of two halls and two guardhouses. There is a worship pavilion between the front hall and the main hall. The stone lions in the middle gate are beautiful in shape and strong in quality, especially the granite blocks under the corridor wall. The historical figures and Qilin wood carvings on the wooden door leaves are lifelike, which are rare masterpieces of folk art. In the courtyard beside the temple, there is a cast bell in the 12th year of Guangxu. There is a royal boat in the right guard room, which shows the characteristics of this seaside Temple everywhere.

Qijin Tianhou Palace

Located on the first street of Qijin District, Kaohsiung City, Qijin Tianhou palace is mainly dedicated to Mazu. It is also known as Mazu temple and Mazu Palace by local people. It was built in the 12th year of Emperor Kangxi of the Qing Dynasty (AD 1673) and is the first Mazu temple in Kaohsiung City. In 1979, it was approved as a third class historic site by the government.

brief introduction

The swallow tail scissors of Minnan style architecture and the red lanterns reflected in the blue sky were built in 1948

The temple, which was rebuilt by local believers such as Cai Wenbin, has an ancient and simple appearance. The two walls of the temple are carved with stone, and the shape and carving are exquisite. On the temple hall, there are still a bronze bell in the 12th year of the reign of Emperor Guangxu of the Qing Dynasty and a plaque of "helping all living beings". It is an antique in the 15th year of Emperor Guangxu and a wooden couplet in the 18th year of Emperor Guangxu. It is one of the oldest buildings in Kaohsiung. The qihouhou temple is a traditional temple building. According to the folk custom in Fujian, a Mazu Temple must be built near the docks where almost all fishing boats are moored, and the location of Mazu Temple must face the direction where fishing boats enter the docks. Shuideyangling, the temple site of qihouhou palace, faces the Kaohsiung harbor. According to the "farming deed" left by the ancestors Xu Ahua and others, it can be seen that the "Mazu Palace" at that time was indeed on the shore. For more than 300 years, it silently guarded the local people, and is still the spiritual pillar of the local people. The site of Youqi's Hougong temple is not only a living teaching material for studying the location, address and location of Mazu temple in early Taiwan, but also another evidence of Mazu Temple facing the wharf. The plane pattern of Tianhou palace is two halls, five doors and two guardhouses, which is the temple of the southern system. There is a worship pavilion between the front hall and the main hall. Although the temple site is crowded in the busy busy busy thoroughfare, it still follows the ancient architecture and adopts exquisite I-shaped layout. It is a typical official building in the imperial era. By this way, it can highlight the lofty spirit of empress in appearance and adapt to the warm and rainy atmosphere of Southern Taiwan in use.

structure

Starting from the stone steps, the ground, corridor walls and pillars of Tianhou Palace are all made of stone. It is a stone based building,

A temple with brick walls and wood roofs. Compared with other temples in Kaohsiung City, the exquisiteness of its outline can not hide its magnificence. The square in front of the temple is a place where people gather. It is made of red brick. On the one hand, it is used as a stand for outdoor opera at temple fair, and on the other hand, it is also used as a table and object for temple sacrifice. In the early days, Miaocheng also became a place for sun exposure, or temporary repair of bamboo rafts and fishing gear. In the north of Miaocheng, there are steles, offices, rest pavilions for pilgrims, dressing rooms, etc. Except that the base of the tablet is an antique building, the rest are modern buildings. On the west side of Miaocheng, a steel electric tower shaped gold furnace is built. The roof of Tianhou palace is made of the swallow tail ridge of Sanchuan, which is two deep and two falling. It is decorated with dragon and Phoenix, the head of a bird, the kiss of a bird, and other auspicious or anti evil patterns. Zhongji zhongzuo is the three fairies of fortune, fortune and longevity, and the two dragons serve the two sides. There are clusters of Paitou characters on the ridge. They are all taken from the stories of loyalty, filial piety and righteousness, and have the social and educational functions of awakening the world and instructing the people. Just like most temples in Taiwan, Tin Hau Temple also uses a lot of scissors to decorate the roof. The method is to use lead wire as the skeleton, build it into various forms, paste it with plaster, and then cut the colored pottery, glass and porcelain pieces into the required shape, and stick them on the plaster one by one to become a unique and gorgeous decoration. The production process is extremely cumbersome. From the top of the swallow tail ridge line, there are Shuanglong, sanxianweng, Xishi ridge, dajidu, Paitou, curling grass and so on, which make the roof lively and more ornamental. Now it is explained as follows: the top of the temple is decorated with dragons, because the folk believe that dragons can inject rain to help the common people, and have the function of praying for rain to ward off evil spirits and suppress fire. On the ridge of the temple, there are two dragons fighting for pearls and two dragons protecting the eight trigrams, and the Queen's palace behind the flag is the two dragons protecting the three immortals. The three immortals refer to happiness, wealth and longevity. What ordinary people seek is the glory and wealth of life. Dajidu is decorated with Phoenix, unicorn and other auspicious birds and animals, as well as colorful flowers and plants. It is also lively to seek good luck. Xishi ridge is a ridge on top of the big ridge to increase the gorgeous effect. It is also a popular practice in Taiwan temples since the late Qing Dynasty, with tiger, leopard, lion and elephant as decorations. Paitou is at the end of the hanging ridge. There are "plates" to hold all kinds of scissors and sticky decorations. Some are martial arts themes of characters riding, and some are writing fields of landscape pavilions. They are very delicate and delicate. Paitou in qihougong is the shape of Taoist temple practicing martial arts. Curly grass is a kind of field curly decoration at the end of the inclined ridge, which makes the ridge line more curved, looks like flowers and plants, and also looks like spray. The roof of qihouhou palace adopts "Sanchuan ridge style", that is, the central part of the ridge is raised, and the two sides are lower, so that the temple ridge is divided into sections, and the vertical ridge is added to make the roof more hierarchical and varied. The roof of the main hall is a four vertical type, that is, adding one more roof to the roof, also known as the "double eaves Xieshan" type. There are many ridges with twists and turns, and the roof is divided into several more delicate parts. This is because the main hall is the core of the temple, so it needs to be built very high to show its extraordinary momentum. The front hall of Tianhou palace has five doors, which is a noble regulation in traditional architecture. Because the front facade of the front hall is located at the entrance, it has a significant position, so the eaves, walls and stone columns are full of wonderful works of art. In the woodcut part, the wooden roof truss of Tianhou palace has the craft value of traditional temple architecture. When you approach the Sanchuan gate, you can see that the eaves are full of exquisite and dazzling woodcarvings. From top to bottom, they are colorful "mesh", long and striking "Shouliang", triangular "queti", upright "vertical timber", and "hanging tube" like a lamp Each has its own characteristics.

Characteristic construction

Mesh

It is made up of "Dougong" which are overlapped with each other. Each of the Dougong here jumps out obliquely to both sides and becomes an arc shape. It is like a net when assembled, so it is called mesh. Dougong is an important component of traditional wooden architecture, supporting the beam frame, eaves, etc., which can reduce the force on the beam and column when it vibrates violently, maintain balance and stability, and have the decorative function of beautification.

Shouliang

Located directly above the entrance door, you can see the legendary figures with different postures painted on the crossbeam with vivid expression. Queti: also known as joist or inserted angle, it is located at the intersection angle of beam and column, and has the function of stable and straight.

Vertical timber

It is located outside the hanging barrel to cover the mortise joint of the middle part of the hanging barrel. The location is eye-catching, depicting characters, spirit animals and other fairy tales. Hanging tube: short column suspended under the beam, carved into lotus or Hydrangea at the bottom. As a row side by side, the decorative effect is very large.

Lattice door

Also known as grid door, located on both sides of the middle door, each with a leaf. The gate is open to people. When there is a ceremony or a central official's visit, the gate can be removed to make the space smooth. The details are divided into three parts: skirt, waist and heart. There are excellent gold-plated patterns of story characters, flowers, birds and spirits. The historical figures and Qilin carved on the gate of Tianhou Palace are lively and vivid. They are rare masterpieces of folk art.

stone carving

As for the stone carving, there are three granite steps from Tianhou temple to sanchuanmen, which are made of ballast stone used to cross the sea in the 12th year of Kangxi (1673 AD). Walking into the gate of Sanchuan gate, it is called "Bukou". Apart from the magnificent Dougong, you can see all kinds of stone carvings with different shapes and techniques. Dragon pillars: there are three pairs of dragon pillars in Tianhou palace. Under the eaves on both sides of the Sanchuan gate, there is a pair of stone pillars with a pair of dragons accompanied by flowers and birds. They are lifelike. This pair of dragon pillars is a typical "one pillar and two dragons" popular in Taiwan temples in the late Qing Dynasty, which is called "earth shaking" by craftsmen. The shape of the stone column is a hollow dragon encircling the stone column. It is like a flying dance. In the complex carving, it is painted with oil, showing a colorful atmosphere. The other two pairs of dragon pillars are respectively located in front of the shrine of the front hall and the back hall, and their shapes are similar to those of the Sanchuan gate. In order to protect the cultural relics, the dragon pillars are protected with red iron bars to avoid damage due to accidental collision. Stone lions: there are a pair of stone lions squatting on the stone piers on both sides of the middle gate. They guard the temple gate. They are the guardians of the Queen's palace. The male lion has beads in his mouth and caresses the hydrangea ball. The female lion teases the little lion.

Plinth

The column base is located at the base of the column, also known as stone beads, column beads or column pillars. On the side of the polygon, it is carved with shrimp, crab, flower, bird and other decorations, showing the rich themes of folk stone carving and the ingenious creativity and design skills of the craftsman. Flowers and birds: the temple walls on the left and right sides of Sanchuan gate are covered with complicated stones

Chinese PinYin : Qi Jin Tian Hou Gong